Incorporating Heart Healthy Habits in Life
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15 Minutes + 5 Moves = 1 Serious Lower-Body Burn
No time, no equipment, no problem! Try at-home core and bodyweight workout videos on Cody. Explore a range of heart-healthy bodyweight workouts, HIIT programs, and more. Greatist readers get 30 percent off their first purchase on Cody with promo code 30GREATIST.
It’s leg day so you know what that means… sit-ups. Yes, you read correctly. While you may have thought your abs were the only muscle working overtime in this type of move, prepare for those legs to burn.
You might also like READIn just 15 minutes, you'll power through 4 circuits with a 1-minute max reps circuit to finish strong. Perform each move with a pyramid-style rep-scheme with a static hold between each set. (Not sure what that means? Just following along.) Through squats, extended-leg sit-ups, jump squats, and a lying glute bridge press, you’ll build muscle, strength, and endurance in your lower body. No equipment? No problem. This workout requires nothing but your body weight, so press play and get going.
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Importance of Health in Our Lives
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4 Ways to Keep Your Hair and Skin From Drying Out This Winter
Winter doesn’t just suck the life out of you emotionally—it can also suck the life (and water) out of your skin and hair. While staying hydrated is super important, your skin and hair need extra protection against the elements.
You might also like READWe reached out to a few beauty experts to get their top tips for keeping skin and hair hydrated and healthy all the way to spring.
1. Prep your skin differently in the winter than you do in the summer.
It might seem counterintuitive, but you actually want to use a gentle exfoliator in the winter months, says Debra Jaliman, M.D., a board-certified dermatologist and author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets From a Top New York Dermatologist. "Taking the dead skin off the surface helps your moisturizer penetrate better," she explains.
Jaliman also recommends using a water spray before moisturizing, which helps bind water molecules to your skin, creating a long-lasting, ultra-moisturized effect. Different skin types do best with different water spray solutions, but all skin will benefit from a moisturizer packed with hyaluronic acid. It's one of the best ingredients for skin hydration: A single hyaluronic acid molecule can hold up to 1,000 times its weight in water and acts as a carrier, holding in H2O and delivering it to the skin.
2. Hydrating masks can keep both your hair and face from freaking out.
In cold, dry months, treating your hair with a deep-conditioning mask every couple of weeks is a good idea, says Stephanie Johnson, a cosmetologist and colorist specialist in Dallas, Texas. She recommends looking for a mask with shea butter or a nut oil. "Both are loaded with vitamin E and fatty acids that will nourish your hair," she says.
For African-American hair, Deycke Heidorn, a stylist in New York, recommends argan oil and coconut oil. "African-American hair is typically very porous and requires extra hydration and moisture," Heidorn says. "Coconut oil is a heavy sealant that locks in moisture, while argan oil is rich in vitamin E, which helps hydrate the scalp and hair shafts."
Another way to help your hair retain moisture: After conditioning, spray your hair with a leave-in conditioner before styling. "Heat and mechanical damage strips out moisture, so your locks will be thankful for the extra protection," says Johnson. But if you have fine hair, don’t slather on conditioner from scalp to ends. Instead, apply midshaft to ends only, to avoid weighing down hair and losing volume. This rule applies to both traditional rinse-out and leave-in conditioners.
For skin, Jaliman recommends honey. Honey naturally contains antibacterial and antimicrobial properties—making it a great fit if your dry skin is also prone to breakouts. For ultra-dry skin, throw on a hydrating sheet mask for fifteen minutes in the evening, as well. Your face will thank you.
3. Get serious about beauty sleep and buy that silk pillowcase you’ve always wanted.
Traditional cotton pillowcases soak up more moisture from your hair and skin than their silky-smooth counterparts. If you sleep on a silk pillowcase, you’ll have fewer hair issues like flyaways and frizz, and wake up with dewier, creaseless skin. Silk also makes a lot of hairstyles—including blowouts—last longer, so you won’t have to fry your hair (or drain your bank account) as frequently.
4. Avoid sulfates.
Hair products are often loaded down with drying, stripping sulfates, a detergent chemical used to create foam in beauty and cleaning products. Sulfates act as "surfactants," molecules that attach themselves to oil and water, emulsify the surface tension of water, and wash away both simultaneously. While clean hair is happy hair, sulfates don’t always completely wash away and can irritate the scalp and hair in the end, causing more harm than good.
This is especially true if you have curly, fine, or chemically treated hair. "These folks tend to have less cuticle layer to protect the hair," Johnson says. "They have a hard enough time retaining moisture because their cuticle layer is often compromised. Drying sulfates are not going to help that at all."
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The More Weight, The Bigger the Risk for Cancer
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The Importance Of Medical Devices And Automated Systems For Doctors
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Pulse Oximetry: Uses and Benefits
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3-Ingredient Face Masks So Pure You Could Eat Them
Despite the fact that I know full well that you can absorb tons of stuff through your pores, I’ve put an awful lot of weird stuff on my face. The list includes but is not limited to: retinol, mud, a variety of plastics, hyaluronic acid, parabens, phthalates, and most recently, a face full of actual snail mucus, which actually totally did its job well, but is also kind of inherently gross ($10.99 for 10; amazon.com).
You might also like READMost of these ingredients aren’t necessarily bad for you, although there’s some evidence to suggest we should be wary of parabens and phthalates, and there’s now plenty of evidence that all those plastic-y beauty products are just the worst for our environment (which makes them bad for us too, if we drink water and eat fish). Plastic microbeads, which are used in products like facial scrubs and toothpaste, enter our waterways and seafood, and broken-down bits of plastic and fiber are now found in 25 percent of all individual fish we catch for food in the U.S. So, whatever, if you were looking for further signs of the impending apocalypse, just go ahead and stack this on the list.
This is all to say that face masks are supposed to be, you know, relaxing, in addition to making your skin look and feel good, but it can be really difficult to feel really relaxed if you’re worried about all the nonsense in your mask leaching out into your body and water supply. So there’s something comforting about DIY face masks made from the stuff you trust enough to cook with (not to mention how inexpensive they are).
I’m a big fan of food-based face masks and tend to do them about once a week. I’ll change up the ingredients based on what I have around the kitchen and what skin concern I’m trying to address, but I’ve used all three of the following masks to good effect. I also checked in with a couple of people who actually know what they’re talking about (or as my delightful grandmother always said, "It doesn’t hurt if he’s a doctor,") to ensure that these masks are doing really good work for your skin. Pick the one that best fits your needs, kick back, and enjoy the fact that you know you’re not shoving a bunch of stuff you’d never eat into your body through your pores.
Avocado + Coffee Grounds + Full-Fat, Organic Milk
This mask is super-duper hydrating. Avocado also contains pantothenic acid, which can help reduce the effects of sun damage, as well as vitamin E, an antioxidant that may help prevent early signs of aging. "Avocado contains natural oils that calm inflamed skin, improve skin hydration, and help repair the skin barrier," says Joshua Zeichner, M.D., director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Throw in some coffee grounds and you’ll get an added boost: "Coffee is rich in antioxidants that reduce inflammation; like fire extinguishers, antioxidants put out the damage caused by free radicals," Zeichner says. "This helps explain their reported usefulness in minimizing the effects of harmful sun rays on the skin."
This stuff isn’t an exact science, so don’t worry about precise proportions of ingredients. I’ll typically mush half an avocado with the grounds leftover from my morning’s coffee until it’s a pretty smooth paste, then add a little bit of whole milk at a time until it’s a consistency I want to spread on my face. And the milk doesn’t just make the consistency thinner, either. As Deepa Verma, M.D., notes, "Milk is a wholesome moisturizer full of enzymes, protein, fat, calcium—it can help repair skin and brighten it. Even Cleopatra used it." Which is really all the convincing I need.
Oatmeal + Full-Fat Yogurt + Honey
If your skin breaks out a lot or is easily irritated by products, this anti-inflammatory mask is a good fit for you. "Oatmeal is a terrific ingredient in face masks. It’s hypoallergenic, moisturizing, and exfoliates," Verma says. "It contains amino acids, which nourish skin growth and repair, while stimulating collagen production. It also contains avenanthramides, compounds that soothe and heal dry, irritated skin."
Basically, oatmeal is a great base for lots of face masks. I usually like to grind a handful of rolled oats pretty finely in a coffee grinder, then mush it into about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of full-fat, organic yogurt, and incorporate a good drizzle of honey with a fork. I’ll let that sit for a few minutes for the oats to absorb the yogurt, then spread it all over my face (and hair, too, sometimes).
"Honey has skin-calming and antimicrobial properties, making it a popular natural ingredient in masks designed for acne-prone skin," Zeichner says. And yogurt is excellent in masks too. "It contains alpha hydroxy acid and can reduce acne," Verma says. "Yogurt also contains zinc, B vitamins, lactic acid, and calcium. These all help with hydration and rejuvenation."
Aloe Vera + Turmeric + Lemon
The consistency of this one isn’t like a thick mask, but the benefits are remarkable, especially if you’ve got some acne scarring. "Aloe vera has amino acids and two compounds called auxin and gibberellins, which promote wound healing. Aloe reduces inflammation and is great for treating sunburns, redness, and scars," Verma says. Combine it with lemon juice to help brighten up your skin (and to help with those scars too).
"Lemon is rich in alpha hydroxy acid, citric acid, and salicylic acid, which play a role in brightening the skin, reducing hyperpigmentation and acne scars, and giving an overall glow," Verma says. "The acidic nature of lemon helps tone the skin and improve its elasticity. It’s also a great way to brighten skin.
I keep an aloe vera plant in my kitchen (they’re basically impossible to kill) and will just cut off a stalk, squeeze it out into a bowl, and throw in the juice of about half a lemon and a big tablespoon of turmeric. Mix and throw it on your face. But be careful of the turmeric, which will stain the hell out of your counters if you’re not careful—but it’s worth it as an ingredient.
"Turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties, making it useful in treating a variety of skin conditions ranging from acne to aging skin," Zeichner says. "It may help prevent pores from becoming blocked, and may help skin cells rev up collagen production for strong skin foundation and to minimize the appearance of wrinkles."
Jess Novak is the Greatist lifestyle and beauty editor. Follow her on Instagram @jtothenovak.
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Weight Loss - Four Sneaky Ways To Burn More Calories At Work
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A 15-Minute Bodyweight Workout for Crazy Core Strength
No time, no equipment, no problem! Try at-home core and bodyweight workout videos on Cody. Explore a range of heart-healthy bodyweight workouts, HIIT programs, and more. Greatist readers get 30 percent off their first purchase on Cody with promo code 30GREATIST.
Whenever I want to get a serious abs workout, I always look for the high-intensity, high-rep kind of workout. I’m totally guilty of thinking more sweat = better workout… but does it? This 15-minute core workout proves how isolating your abdominal muscles and hip flexors with repeated holds can be just as effective to build and burn.
You might also like READGet your midsection used to the rounded-out, hollow position you will use in a series of four exercises. For each of the four moves, fire up your core with three increasingly difficult progressions using just your body weight. Work toward the different scaling options as you return to this workout and progress through the plan. The instructor explains how to do each move to ensure your lower back is protected, your breath is steady, and you perform the moves according to your comfort and flexibility level. Press play below to take on this serious core challenge.
Exercise Recap:
- Tuck Balance
- Tuck Extension
- Straight-Leg Hold
- Crunch Hold
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